Enhanced favorites service for web browsers and web applications

ABSTRACT

The invention provides enhancements for the use of favorites during a Web browsing session. A first enhancement identifies when a user is adding a favorite to his favorites list and auto-suggests a category under which the favorite could be stored. A second enhancement allows a user to review his favorites list and see a summary of feed content (RSS or other standard) on each feed enabled page on his favorites list, without requiring the user to link to the page in question. A third enhancement allows the user to view an manipulate the feed in an independent display window.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/197,681 filed on Aug. 3, 2005, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by this reference thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The invention relates to management and viewing of “favorites” or“bookmarks”. More particularly, the invention relates to an enhancedfavorites service built in to a Web browser as well as available from aweb site, accessible from any web browser.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Web browsing has evolved into a sophisticated information managementprocess. Web browsing sessions produce much information that the usermay wish to access at a later time. Currently, users save Web pages ofinterest as “favorites”. Each favorite is manually cached by the user inone of several subject matter relevant folders. This process is bothinefficient and inexact. The user must make a decision based onimperfect information, i.e. the user may not have fully reviewed thecontent of the page that is being added to his favorites list, and thusplaces the page in the wrong category. The later retrieval of suchfavorite information may be hampered by such wrong categorization.

Further, many such favorites have feeds (conforming to RSS or otherstandards) associated with them. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is aformat for syndicating news and the content of news-like sites,including major news sites such as Wired, CNN and ESPN news-orientedcommunity sites such as Slashdot, and personal web logs. Onceinformation about each item is in RSS format, an RSS-aware program cancheck the feed for changes and react to the changes in an appropriateway (see http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2002/12/18/dive-into-xml.html).Currently, Web pages having associated RSS feeds provide a list of RSSitems when the page is linked-to. Modern browsers, such as FIREFOX(MOZILLA CORP., MOUNTAIN VIEW Calif.) OR INTERNET EXPLORER (MICROSOFTCORP., REDMON Wash.) provide an icon that indicates that such pagescontain RSS content. Such browsers also indicate the presence of new RSScontent in a favorites list with an indicator, such as an icon ornumeric indication. Unfortunately, there is no way for a user to reviewa favorites list and determine if any of the information on the linkedpage is of interest, except to follow the link to the page in questionand review the information at the page itself. Because much of the RSSinformation is duplicated over many Websites, a user invariably wastestime reviewing information he has already seen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a series of enhancements for the use of favoritesduring a Web browsing session. A first enhancement identifies when auser is adding a favorite to his favorites list and auto-suggests afolder under which the favorite could be stored. A second enhancementallows a user to review his favorites list and see a summary of feedcontent (RSS or other feed format) automatically displayed in-line witheach feed enabled web site in his favorites list, without requiring himto explicitly to link to the feed URL in question. A third enhancementallows the user to tear off a feed listing from the favorites menu andview it in a separate, persistent display window that has its owncharacteristics distinct from the browser application

Accordingly, the invention provides a mechanism that allows a user toreview RSS content without having to link to the page which providessuch content. The invention also provides the user the capability ofaccessing a feed listing from the user's favorites list and viewing thefeed listing in a display window separate from the browser. Theinvention also provides an automatic and consistent approach toorganizing favorites.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a screen shot showing RSS integration in a collapsed view;

FIG. 2 is a screen shot showing RSS integration in an expanded view;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot showing an RSS hover state;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a favorites menu having an integrated RSSfeed in a collapsed view according to the invention:

FIG. 5 is a screen shot of a favorites menu having an integrated RSSlisting in an expanded view;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a favorites menu with a headline from anintegrated RSS feed highlighted;

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a window activated by selecting a headline,as in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot showing an RSS listing torn off from thefavorites menu as a separate window;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot showing the RSS listing from a favorites menudisplayed as a single line ticker that exists in a persistent state ontop of other applications;

FIG. 10 shows an “add favorite” form;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot showing folder suggestions;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot showing a folder pull-down menu; and

FIG. 13 is a block schematic diagram showing a preferred enhancedfavorites system architecture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a series of enhancements for the use of favoritesduring a Web browsing session. A first enhancement identifies when auser is adding a favorite to his favorites list and auto-suggests afolder under which the favorite could be stored. A second enhancementallows a user to review his favorites list and see a summary of feedcontent (RSS or other format) automatically displayed in-line with eachfeed enabled web site in his favorites list, without requiring him toexplicitly to link to the feed URL in question. A third enhancementallows the user to access a feed listing from his favorites list andtear off the listing to display the listing in a persistent displaywindow separate from the browser.

In the presently preferred embodiment, when a user is engaged in a Webbrowsing session with a browser such as Safari or Firefox, the user maybookmark a Web page of interest for later retrieval and review. Thebookmark, also referred to as a favorite, is sent to a host for storageand also sent to a metadata server, The metadata server performs alookup of the URL and/or other information associated with thebookmarked page for category information and/or for RSS information. Thebrowser, La the user client, can also retrieve relevant information fromthe Web page. The metadata server makes associations and returns theseto the user.

In the case of an RSS feed associated with a bookmarked page, theapplication (web browser or web application) shows an icon relative tothe bookmark. Clicking on the icon retrieves the most recent “headlines”for the feed. The client application periodically checks for newheadlines. When the user selects a list of bookmarks, each bookmark inthe list that has an associated RSS feed, displays the headlinescorresponding to the most recent headlines for the in-line with thebookmark list. In the presently preferred embodiment, the five mostrecent headlines are shown for each RSS enabled Web page in the list.The actual number of headlines, amount of text presented, and updatefrequency may be set to default values or they may be set by the user ina preference pane. Additionally, a refresh button may be provided.

In the case of displaying a feed listing in a separate window, the useraccesses the RSS feed from the favorites list in the manner previouslydescribed. The user can then “tear off” the feed listing from thefavorites list, for example by clicking and dragging the listing with apointing device such as a mouse, and create a new display windowseparate from the browser, wherein the feed listing is displayed in thenew window. The new window exhibits its own behavior. Thus, it ispersistent, and the user can interact with the display windowindependently of the browser.

In the case of automatically organizing bookmarks as they are acquired,The URL and/or other relevant information of a page being bookmarked isreferenced by the metadata server to a hierarchical classificationscheme, such as that of the Open Directory Project(http://www.dmoz.org). A folder suggestion is returned to the user thatidentifies a most likely folder for saving the bookmark. The user mayselect the suggested folder, or he may save the bookmark in any otherfolder, or create a new folder.

Feed Integration

FUNCTIONS: When a new favorite is added, part of the process in thebackground is finding an associated feed (RSS/Atom or other format). Ifa feed can be found (with associated headlines), a feeds icon, shown inFIG. 1 as “RSS”, is displayed to the right of the favorite. In oneembodiment, the feeds icon is configurable. Thus, it does not alwayshave to denote an RSS feed. Other feed formats, such as RDF (resourcedescription framework) and Atom (IETF ATOMPUB WORKING GROUP) arecompatible with the invention. Additionally, another tree controlappears next to the favorite icon. Finally, an additional feature is todisplay a feeds/new feeds differentiation integrated in the folder icon,in case all folders are closed when new feeds are fetched. This appliesto all parent folders of URLs having feeds. The new feed status shows ifthere are one or more new feeds contained anywhere in the folder orenclosed folders.

INTERACTION: Clicking on the title of the favorite takes the user to thefavorite place, However, clicking on the “RSS” icon on the right, orexpanding the new tree control accesses additional features.

FIG. 2 shows RSS integration in an expanded view according to theinvention. Once the tree control for the favorite is expanded, itdisplays the top five headlines, ordered by descending date, of theassociated feed. Because screen space is at a premium, the preferredembodiment only displays the first few characters of the headline, andtruncates it after that. Clicking on any of the headlines takes thebrowser to the link associated in the feed. Note that an icon 22, i.e. a“sun”, indicates that new articles are present.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of headlinesmay be displayed and that such headlines may be displayed in any order.Additionally, a user preference dialog may be provided to allow the userto select such parameters as number of headlines displayed, order ofdisplay, and number of characters to display, for example.

FIG. 3 is a screen shot showing an RSS hover state. To give the usersome notification that a feed has been updated, the icon showing that afavorite has a feed preferably has two states: the default state and anupdated state, which is shown if a feed has been updated in the lasthour in this example. Note that for accessibility reasons, contrastshould be more important than color as a change indicator for this icon.Hovering over the “new feeds” icon shows the number of new feeds. Nohover state is provided for normal state “RSS” icon, i.e. there are nonew feeds. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, upon mouse hover, an objectbecomes draggable.

Tear Off Feed Listing

The foregoing discussion contains a detailed description of integratinga feed into a favorites list. FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a browserwindow wherein the user has integrated a feed 401 designated by an icon402 into the user's favorites list 403. The current view shows the treecontrol in its collapsed state. FIG. 5 shows a browser window 500,wherein a feed 501 is integrated into the favorites list 503. FIG. 5shows the tree control in an expanded configuration displaying the mostrecent headlines for the feed.

Having exposed the most recent headlines associated with the feed, theuser, by clicking on the headline can view the content associated withthe headline. FIG. 6 shows a browser window 600 having a feed 601integrated into a favorites list 603. The feed is shown with the treecontrol in the expanded configuration, displaying the most recentheadlines to the user. By inititiating an action, for example clicking aheadline with a pointing device such as a mouse, the user causes adisplay window 602 to open containing the content associated with thefeed 601. In the present embodiment, the window 602 is a child window,and is therefore not persistent. However, the ordinarily-skilledpractitioner will appreciate that the window could easily be persistent.An additional embodiment of the invention allows a user to postcommentary on the content of the feed in a separate window.

FIG. 7 shows a browser window 800, wherein the user has performed anaction that has the effect of “tearing off a feed 701 and displaying thefeed in separate display window 702 that is completely independent ofthe favorites list 703. Because of its existence independent of thebrowser window, the display window 702 has a number of characteristics;among these: (1) it is persistent. Thus, even if the browser window 700were to close, the display window 702 would remain open on the user'sdesktop. (2) The display window has its own characteristics. FIG. 8shows a browser window 800 having a favorites list 803 with anintegrated feed 801. The user has perfomed an action to “tear off” thefeed, thereby creating an independent display window 802 displaying themost recent headlines for the feed As with the feed integrated with thefavorites list, the user can display the content associated with aheadline in a child window 804. Additionally, the independent displaywindow 802 refreshes itself with updated feed information.

Because the tear-off display window is an independent object, it can bemanipulated in various ways. For example, FIG. 9 shows a word processingdocument 900, wherein a feed 901 is configured to be displayed as asingle-line ticker 901, a persistent object configured to display on topof other applications. The ordinarily-skilled practitioner will beinspired to develop other ways in which the independent nature of thedisplay window can be exploited. All are within the scope of theinvention.

Add Favorite

ADD FAVORITE WINDOW: FIG. 10 shows an Add Favorite form according to theinvention, When the user clicks the “Add” button, or selects “AddFavorite . . . ” from the favorites menu, the Add Favorite flow begins,ADD FAVORITE FORM FUNCTIONS: The user first selects one of the radiobutton options. “Select a Folder” is the default option. If the user hasthe “Suggest folder names” feature turned on, there is an initial delaywith progress feedback while the browser retrieves that information.During this time, the folder pull-down menu is disabled, and an animatedloading label is displayed. Also, note that the “save” button isdisabled during this interaction. In the case that the user has turnedoff the folder suggestion, all of this goes away, and a folder pull-downmenu is provided. If this option is turned off, such state is stored inthe user preferences. Completion of the Add Favorite flow results in thedisplay of an updated panel showing the favorite at the bottom of eitherthe root of the list, or the bottom of the items inside a folder if afolder was selected prior to adding.

Folder Suggestion

FOLDER SUGGESTION: FIG. 11 is a screen shot showing folder suggestionsaccording to the invention. In the event that a suggested folder isfound for the new favorite, the pull-down defaults to that folder. FIG.5 shows the folder with the name bold-faced, and a special icon todenote that it is a suggested folder.

FOLDER PULL-DOWN MENU. FIG. 12 is a screen shot showing a folderpull-down menu according to the invention. The folder's pull-down menuis straightforward. Preferably, the menu shows folder icons, and usesindentation to represent hierarchy.

Architecture

FIG. 13 is a block schematic diagram showing a preferred enhancedfavorites system architecture. The following is a discussion of each ofthe items shown in FIG. 13,

WEB BROWSER: The web browser 1301 stores the user& favorites, locallyvia a local storage service 1302 and updates them as needed from thehost.

Some information about the network connections:

-   -   a. The web browser gets and sets favorites information by        issuing XML over HTTP commands to the UI server 1303. On        startup, the web browser issues a get request with the current        version it has. If the version cached in the local store is        older, the full set of favorites is downloaded from the UI        server.    -   b. When a user adds a URL to his list of favorites, the web        browser issues a request to the UI server to retrieve the        associated feed URL and suggested folder name. When the user        chooses a folder, the web browser then sends the URL, feed URL,        title, and folder name to the host (server) for permanent        storage.    -   c. When displaying favorites to the user, the web browser may        fetch RSS feed 1304 associated with favorites via the Headline        server 1305, taking advantage of the caching the latter        performs.

WEB APPLICATION: The Web application 1306 is the UI vehicle for“enhanced favorites” outside of the web browser when the user uses anyother web browser. It connects to the UI server via HTTP, and receivesfrom it DHTML content. It receives RSS feed content when requested fromthe Headline server.

UI SERVER: The UI server is both a data aggregator and a presentationlayer for clients.

Some information about the UI Server network connections:

-   -   a. Serves up UI and favorites metadata as DHTML to Web browsers.        Receives requests from browsers to retrieve as well as to make        changes to favorites using HTTP.    -   b. Serves up Favorite data and performs add/delete/modify        operations for web browsers using XML over HTTP.    -   c. Serves up metadata to web browsers using XML over HTTP. To        get the folder suggestion and feeds for favorites submitted it        issues requests to the metadata server 1307. This server        analyzes the favorite URL and matches it with its internal        database to come up with associated feeds and a taxonomy path.        It then uses mapping rules to transform the taxonomy path into a        folder suggestion. It then returns the feeds and suggested        folders, which is what the client is interested in.    -   d. For authentication, the preferred UI server relies on the AOL        standard authentication infrastructure.

HEADLINE SERVER: The headline server serves RSS feed content (headlinesand article summaries) to Web browsers or AOL Explorer clients uponrequest via HTTP. It isolates the web browsers from different RSSprotocols. by normalizing feeds to one particular RSS format.Additionally, the server provides two interfaces, XML and DHTML, whichallow simple access to feeds and headlines from almost any developmentplatform. The headline server also allows for improved clientperformance by caching popular feeds and headlines and by using an HTTPconnection pool to retrieve feeds from their source.

ENHANCED FAVORITES CACHE COMPLEX: This element 1308 caches user'sfavorites to reduce the load on the databases and offer a betterexperience for web users. The system handles requests from the UI serverto acid/delete/modify users' data and stores it in the DB 1309 forpersistence.

URL METADATA SERVER: This service can accept a request containing a URLor a set of URLs and return data about that URL or set of URLs. Thekinds of data that can be returned include folder suggestions andassociated feeds. Incoming query requests come from the UI server in theform of XML over HTTP.

DATABASE: The database stores the users' favorites and associatedinformation. The data is accessed by the Cache Complex.

RSS: This represents HTTP servers that can provide RSS and Atom feeds.These feeds might be offered by a service such as AOL or by other feedproviders.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to thepreferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat other applications may be substituted for those set forth hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims includedbelow.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A computer-implemented method for providingpersistent access to a data feed listing in a web page, the methodcomprising the following operations performed by at least one processor:displaying, on a user device, a window of a web browser; displaying, inthe window of the web browser, a list linking to one or morefeed-enabled pages; receiving, via the user device, input specifying auser operation associated with at least one of the one or more feedenabled pages; and in response to the user operation associated with atleast one of the one or more feed-enabled pages, displaying a tearoffobject in a persistent window separate from the window of the webbrowser.
 22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein theuser operation associated with at least one of the one or morefeed-enabled pages is a dragging of a representation of the at least oneof the one or more feed enabled pages.
 23. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 21 further comprising: embedding the tearoff object in adocument distinct from the web page.
 24. The computer-implemented methodof claim 21 further comprising: displaying the tearoff object in theform of a ticker-style display.
 25. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 21 wherein the tearoff object automatically provides updated feedinformation.
 26. The computer-implemented method of claim 21 wherein thetearoff object has characteristics independent of the web browser. 27.An apparatus for providing persistent access to a data feed listing in aweb page comprising: a memory that stores instructions one or moreprocessors that, when executing the instructions, are configured to:display, on a user device, a window of a web browser; display, in thewindow of the web browser, a list linking to one or more feed-enabledpages; receive, via the user device, input specifying a user operationassociated with at least one of the one or more feed-enabled pages; andin response to the user operation associated with at least one of theone or more feed-enabled pages, display a tearoff object in a persistentwindow separate from the window of the web browser.
 28. The apparatus ofclaim 27 wherein the user operation associated with at least one of theone or more feed-enabled pages is a dragging of a representation of theat least one of the one or more feed enabled pages.
 29. The apparatus ofclaim 27 wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:embed the tearoff object in a document distinct from the web page. 30.The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to: display the tearoff object in the form of a ticker-styledisplay.
 31. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the tearoff objectautomatically provides updated feed information.
 32. The apparatus ofclaim 27 wherein the tearoff object has characteristics independent ofthe web browser.
 33. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configurethe one or more processors to perform a method for providing persistentaccess to a data feed listing in a web page, the method comprising:displaying, on a user device, a window of a web browser; displaying, inthe window of the web browser, a list linking to one or morefeed-enabled pages; receiving, via the user device, input specifying auser operation associated with at least one of the one or morefeed-enabled pages; and in response to the user operation associatedwith at least one of the one or more feed-enabled pages, displaying atearoff object in a persistent window separate from the window of theweb browser.
 34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33wherein the user operation associated with at least one of the one ormore feed-enabled pages is a dragging of a representation of the atleast one of the one or more feed enabled pages.
 35. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the method furthercomprises: embedding the tearoff object in a document distinct from theweb page.
 36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33wherein the method further comprises: displaying the tearoff object inthe form of a ticker-style display.
 37. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the tearoff objectautomatically updates itself with updated feed information.
 38. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the tearoffobject has characteristics independent of the web browser.